


Promotion (Side B)

by GoldsweptSilk (Listless_Songbird)



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Brief depiction of violence, Mind Control, Rewrite of a canon scene, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-07 21:09:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20316058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listless_Songbird/pseuds/GoldsweptSilk
Summary: [SOUNDS OF BRUTALPIPEVAMPIRE MURDER]an outside perspective!





	Promotion (Side B)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Promotion (Side A)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20316034) by [GoldsweptSilk (NevillesGran)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NevillesGran/pseuds/GoldsweptSilk). 

> B is for Bastard, a bored Bouchard breaks a bothersome bookworm
> 
> Read Side A first!

Elias Watched with exasperation through Jon’s eyes as he took an axe to the Web bound table anchoring the NotThem. While paranoia and impulsiveness were common enough side effects of a human consuming too much vampiric blood, Jon had let the emotions influence his thoughts far too much. Elias had hoped that a healthy dose of paranoia might help fine tune Jon’s need to  _ learn, _ as well as teaching him how best to avoid garnering the attention of others while getting the answers he sought. 

That was very much  _ not _ what had happened.

It had been amusing enough to watch however, and Jon hadn’t caused any permanent damage so Elias hadn’t seen the need to intervene. 

Elias now Watched, attentive if somewhat bored, as one of the Strangers experiments chased after Jon. (Jon hadn’t noticed but he was running much faster than he should have been able to, and Elias smiled at how well Jon was taking his transformation.) He stood abruptly, already headed to the door as Jon was yanked into the Delirium by a Spiral agent and disappeared from Elias’s Sight. Elias was halfway out of his office by the time Jon reappeared, hazy through the pulse and churning power of the tunnels, but carrying enough of Elias’s blood to shine like a beacon regardless. 

He slowed his pace but continued down to the Archives. It seemed like a prudent time to fully establish his Claim on his new Archivist. Then something shifted once more and Elias wasn’t able to See Jon, and the only reason he refused to be truly concerned was that he was still capable of sensing his presence. 

Not until Elias situated himself back behind Jon’s eyes could he see, with irritation and delight, Jurgen Leitner seated in the Archivist’s office. Elias reached out mentally and gently floated memories of addiction and urgency until Jon finally surrendered to his instincts and left the room. 

Elias was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, and couldn’t help but pulse power along the softly glowing bond between them, checking to make sure the Delirium hadn’t done any significant damage. The moment Elias’s power washed over him Jon’s eyes went glassy and his head tilted back, the perfect picture of supplication. Elias ran the backs of his fingers along the line of Jon’s throat and laughed softly. 

“Yes, I believe it's time,” he all but purred, settling himself deep within Jon’s consciousness.

He reached out and grasped the back of his Archivist’s neck tightly and let himself  _ take _ what he had Claimed. He sunk his fangs deep into Jon’s throat and took and _ took _ until the only thing left in him was the blood Elias had gifted him over months and months of feedings. 

Elias pulled Jon away from himself not caring about the gash he had left behind in Jon’s neck. Making sure he had a firm grasp on Jon’s consciousness, Elias reached out and snapped Jon’s neck. 

The struggle within Jon began immediately. In the feral fight against what should be his death Jon scrambled to reach for anything to connect him to this world. And, by design, the only option available was Elias and the bond of blood between them. 

Jon pulled himself from death's grasp with a shaking heave of lungs that was more instinct than necessity and immediately began to lash out. Fury and determination to live and endure condensed into a feral need to fight and kill.

Elias allowed himself a split second to revel in the ferocity and power Jon wielded before bearing down on his mind with as much power as he could without permanent injury to Jon. Keeping the pressure up, Elias stepped back and smirked at Jon. 

“I do believe it is time to pay the Librarian another visit don't you?” 

Jon flashed his fangs at Elias, pure instinct and aggression and Elias’s smirk grew into a wide smile, letting his fangs show in turn.

  
  
  


“Well,” Elias said, casually opening the door and stepping in, “This  _ is _ a surprise.”

Seated before Jon’s desk, Jurgen Leitner, most infamous human mage of the 20th century, made a move towards his spellbook. Elias only barely contained his snarl as he said, “Reach for the book and I  _ will _ kill you.” 

He had had enough encounters with mortals playing with the powers over the years to be incredibly irritated by them. Like a gnat that keeps buzzing too close to your ear. And this particular  _ ‘Sorcerer’  _ was worse than most. 

Proving himself capable of at least some common sense the man sat down again. Jon surged against his mental bindings in the hall behind him and Elias focused most of his attention on keeping Jon in place for just a bit longer. 

“How much have you told him?” Elias asked blandly, not up for playing any interesting games at the moment, with most of his attention firmly seated with Jon. Besides. Leitner was hardly interesting enough to bother playing with. Elias merely needed answers. 

“Enough,” Leitner replied warily.

“About Gertrude?”

“No– no, I didn’t have time.”

“I’ve wondered for so long who it could be down there. Who was helping her.” Elias allowed a faint glimpse of interest to slip into his tone. He had been curious, but not  _ truly _ enough to seriously attempt to discover the answer. He knew they would slip up in the end. Elias let his Sight linger on Leitner, not enough to push past any of his defenses, but enough to make the man feel  _ seen _ . “I honestly never would have guessed.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t,” he admitted with half a shrug, and quelled another surge of fury and need for action in Jon before it could fully take root. “You’re very well-hidden. But Jon is not, and he failed to take the same precautions I’m sure you took for granted with Gertrude. I knew he was talking to someone. And it turns out to be Jurgen Leitner himself.” Elias chuckled, watching Leitner's expression in amusement as he did. “What an honour.”

Lietner sat back in his chair and bared his neck in a mockery of surrender. “Elias, please.”

“What do you want from him?” Elias asked, more out of curiosity than anything else. 

“The files. The ones you took from Gertrude.”

“Planning a little light arson, are we, Jurgen?” Elias purred, taking pleasure in Leitner’s reactions. 

“It’s not just the Institute and you know it. They had everything she’d found on the Strangers.”

“I know. It's, um...what do they call it?” Elias thought a moment, before Jon tore at one of his mental tethers and Elias was distracted by the need to tie it back down. Not that he gave any indication of his lack of attention. 

“The Unknowing,” Leitner said with a bitter tone.

Elias snorted out a laugh, “Creativity never was their forte.”

Leitner suddenly sat forward again, irritated and impertinent. “You of all people should want to stop them!”

Elias couldn’t help a short sigh escaping as he said, “And we will. But I don’t think we’ll need  _ your _ help.”

He smiled, all teeth and mockery and finally let Jon come into the room. He had to tighten his control even more when Jon spotted Leitner. Jon moved with a predator’s gait, his eyes never leaving Leitner, thrashing against Elias’s hold with the need to  _ eattakemakemine _ . Elias had to spend a few seconds firming up his grasp and when he was done Leitner was asking his incessant questions again. 

“How is this possible? The transformation usually takes—”

“Oh, I’ve been overfeeding Jon for months. I barely had to do more than kill him, at this point. Insurance, you understand, in case someone else beat me to it. It would be so much trouble to find another candidate as well-suited to being my heir.” Elias reached out and touched Jon’s cheek, using the contact to calm Jon slightly. He was still finishing up his conversation; Jon could wait a few more minutes. “It’s driven him somewhat mad, and certainly contributed to some of his less advisable decisions tonight. But I think it’s working out.” Elias stepped back with a gratified smirk.

“Your heir?” Leitner seemed to be legitimately shocked. “He barely knows anything. He’ll be destroyed.”

“It’s always a danger.” Elias hummed, quickly growing tired of this. 

“Elias,” Leitner tried again, “It doesn’t have to be like—” 

Leitner bared his neck in surrender and Elias lost his grip on Jon’s mind through the immense surge of feral hunger that spiked within his fledgling. In an instant Jon had knocked Leitner from his chair, grabbed his head and slammed it to the floor hard enough that Elias was slightly impressed. Elias could have caught him, he supposed, and held him back but by this point he really didn’t see a reason why he should. 

Leitner reached up a hand on instinct and Jon seized it by the wrist, yanking at the arm hard enough to dislocate it. He pulled it even further until it began to tear off at the shoulder. 

Leitner let out a screamed and Jon’s attention snapped back to the man’s head. He grabbed it and crashed it against the floor again. 

Jon finally went for the throat. Elias let out a contented hum as he watched the man who had been a permanent thorn in his side be torn apart by his heir. 

He took Leitner’s spellbook from the desk and left to go log it into Artifact storage, leaving Jon to feed in peace. 


End file.
